If I Were Mayor

If I were Mayor of Waukesha County, the issue I would address is schools drug testing students. Although there are other topics to be discussed, I’d like to focus on this specific issue. Recently, there has been a rise in overdoses in schools and some have led to death of these students. There are many ways to try and solve what’s happening but there is no real easy way to. Ever since the rise in drug use, and overdoses during the school day, schools became more frequent with their random monthly drug tests. Rather than testing four students a month, they began to test four every two weeks. I understand that the death of high school students due to the use of drugs is a major issue, but is it necessary to use money that could potentially go towards improving schools on weekly drug test?

I will propose my proposition to each school in Waukesha County District individually as well as to the public to spread awareness of the rising issue. If a student gets caught with drugs at school or comes up positive on drug tests, they are required to take an eight hour drug class to be able to continue to attend to the school. Instead of only requiring students that get in trouble to take this class I think that it should become a mandatory course that all students have to take all four years of high school.

In order to pass the drug course, students will be required to come clean on tests that are distributed monthly. According to SHRM poll results, a drug test can range from $30-$50, with that said, drug testing four students per week for 10 months could cost anywhere from $4,800 to $8,000 every school year. Although, requiring a class of 30 students to get drug tested every month could potentially cost more, it would be more beneficial in the long run. The drug course would educate students on what the negative side-effects drugs may have on the body, and how they may later affect them financially. Failure to pass the class will result in retaking the course over the summer. The purpose of the class is to inform the students of all the negative effects, decreasing the number of overdoses and to provide the help needed for those who might have issues relating to their use of drugs.

The purpose of high school isn’t to crack down on drug abusers but it is to educate students and prepare them for college and the adult life. Taking students out of their learning environment to test them does nothing but omit them from their education and it then demolishes the whole point of school. Why disrupt their learning experience for a test that may come up negative? Not only would having an informative mandatory class on drugs decrease drug use but it would also educate students for when they may be offered a drug later on in life and be able to deny it because they are worried about failing a test, but because they know the risks and effects the drug will have on them.

With the rise in drug overdoses in schools there is no real solution to put an end to it, but I believe that having a required drug course will decrease the use over all. Rather than spending money on weekly drug test, having a class that tests every student monthly will not only save many lives that were at risk prior to the new course but it will expand their knowledge on drugs they previously might have used. So the real question isn’t at what cost, but it’s how many more lives does it take for the school board to understand that random drug tests doesn’t come nearly as close to solving the major problem like this class would.

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